JOHOR BARU: Food sellers are forced to shut down their business today as their tap runs dry since yesterday following the closure of two water treatment plants along Sungai Johor.
The closure was due to water contamination caused by oil spill along a 15-kilometre stretch of the river.
Businesses which largely depend on water to operate such as saloons, laundry shops and car wash, could only offer limited service or even have to stop their service.
Food seller Hussain Yusof, of Bandar Baru Uda, said he couldn't open his food stall this morning as there was no water supply.
"Food business is always the most severely affected whenever there is water disruption, as we need water to make drinks and for cleaning purpose.
"As I operate my business only in the morning, I could not open my stall today at all. This is a big loss.
"Even at home, my tap runs dry starting yesterday afternoon, it was not easy to sleep last night without bathing, especially when the weather is hot these days," he said.
Saloon owner Anika Turis said she could only offer hair cut today, but no perming and washing service as both need plenty of water.
"Surprisingly there was no water disruption notice this time, or else we will have enough time to store some water," she said.
Housewife Lily Foong, from Taman Impian Emas, said it is annoying to sleep without bathing last night, and to wait up without any water to bath and brush teeth.
She hoped the water supply will resume by today, as it is very irritating to live without water.
It was reported a major oil spill which occurred at the upstream of Sungai Johor has forced SAJ Holding Sdn Bhd, the concessionaire which supplies treated water in Johor, to shut down the operations of the Semanggar and Sungai Johor treatment plants from 8am on Thursday.
As a result of the closure, some 1.25 million people from a total of 250,000 establishments, including households, living in Johor Baru, Nusajaya and part of Kulaijaya are expected to experience water disruption.
Immediately after the discovery of the oil slick, the Johor government had mobilised officers from the Department of Environment, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd and the Johor Health Department to come up with precautionary measures, such as installing silt-curtain like structure to prevent the spread of the oil spill further down the river.
Initial investigation traced the oil spill to a used tyre processing factory near Felda Taib Andak in Kulai.
There are five water treatment plants located along Sungai Johor. The other three, which are located further down the river, are the Sungai Sayong, Linggiu, and Bandar Tenggara treatment plants.
Meanwhile, SAJ Holdings head of corporate communication Jamaluddin Jamil said the two treatment plants had resumed operation from 11.30am today.